Silence filled the corridor as no one dared to say anything. Yuri and Sooyoung were standing against the wall on opposite sides with their heads hung low. Tiffany was seated in between Jessica and Sunny who had their arms around her shoulders and waist. Yoona and Seohyun were seated opposite of them, looking as solemn as everyone else while Hyoyeon was standing slightly away from them, talking on the phone.

"Omma and Appa are on their way." Hyoyeon broke the silence before she slumped herself into the seat beside Yoona. "If only unnie was here. I really don't know how to explain whatever that had happened to them. I wish it was me inside the operation theatre right now."

To everyone's surprise, Hyoyeon cried as she covered her face and bent her body forward, hiding her crying face from everyone. It's not the first time that they had seen her cry but just like her sister, both of them rarely showed their tears to the girls.

Tiffany stood up and walked towards Hyoyeon before squatting down in front of the younger girl. "She'll be fine. You told me so. Because of you, I kept my faith on your unnie. She'll pull through all this." Tiffany smiled warmly as Hyoyeon looked up.

"Fany-unnie.." Hyoyeon hugged Tiffany tight as Tiffany patted her back.

It's been almost 2hrs since Taeyeon was brought into the operation theatre as the doctors and nurses tried to stop her bleeding. Minho and some of his officers had returned to their office an hour ago after he had ensured that Taeyeon was in good hands. Minho informed the girls that from the report given by Officer Jonghyun and Officer Taemin, the bodyguard was the one who had shot Sunmi. He was also the one who informed the officers that Taeyeon had fallen off the rooftop.

A growling sound was heard in the dead silence as Yoona suddenly covered her stomach. "Sorry." Yoona blushed as she bowed her head slightly.

"Gwenchana. Why don't all of you proceed to the cafetaria for some light snacks and rest for a while? It's been more than 24hrs since we last eaten anything." Tiffany said as looked at her watch. "I'll stay here to keep watch and would update you once there's any news."

"I'll accompany you here, Fany-unnie." Hyoyeon said. "I'm not that hungry. Furthermore, Omma and Appa are making their way here."

The other girls didn't agree to Tiffany's suggestion but she insisted that she'll be fine especially since Hyoyeon was there to accompany her. 20mins later, YulSic, SooSun and YoonHyun finally left for the cafetaria after reminding Tiffany and Hyoyeon to contact them as soon as possible if there was any updates.

"Fany-unnie..." Hyoyeon called out to Tiffany who was already seated beside her. "Are you angry at Taeng-unnie?"

A frown appeared on Tiffany's face before she smiled a little and shook her head. "Why should I be angry with her?"

"Because she made her own decisions. It's like she went back to become who she was before. Keeping things from you, acting on her own." Hyoyeon explained as Tiffany leaned her head against the wall.

"But isn't that how your unnie is?" Tiffany smiled before turning to face Hyoyeon. "She was always the type who will put others ahead of herself. She cares and worries more about her loved ones than herself. Even if I was angry with her, I knew her reason for doing so. How can I stay angry with the person who puts her life on the line to protect me?"

Hyoyeon nodded her head. "I think Taeng-unnie was afraid that she might endanger Nicky's life if Sunmi found out that we knew about her plans but she really took a big risk by acting on her own. No one expected Sunmi to be that crazy just because of her obsession for Taeng-unnie."

Hearing what Hyoyeon had said, Tiffany sighed as she remembered what Irene had told her before about how weird and obsessed Sunmi was towards Taeyeon. In her mind, she wondered if Taeyeon knew that there was something wrong with Sunmi's mental stability.

"Hyo."

Both girls turned towards the voice as Hyoyeon stood up and ran up to her Omma. She hugged her Omma tight as tears started to flow down her cheeks again. Tiffany looked nervous as Mr Kim sat down beside her.

"How are you holding up, my dear?" Mr Kim asked Tiffany, who just smiled at him and showed a thumbs up. "Remember to stay strong for Taengoo."

Hearing his words, Tiffany fought back the tears that had threatened to flow out as she nodded her head vigorously while Mr Kim patted her head. He then told Hyoyeon to stop crying and pray for her sister's well-being instead. After Hyoyeon sat down opposite of her father, Mrs Kim walked up to Tiffany who had stood up. Mrs Kim instantly gave her a hug.

"You can cry if you want to, Miyoung. Don't listen to your Appa Kim. He always tell his daughters to hide their tears. That's why they always pretend to be strong when they're not." Mrs Kim whispered softly to Tiffany who finally let her tears down but she chose to sob softly.

Mrs Kim noticed the rapid movement of Tiffany's shoulders and she knew that the girl was crying quietly. She patted Tiffany's back and led the girl to sit down as everyone continued to wait patiently along the corridor until the other girls returned with some packed food. Another round of huggings occurred as they took turns to hug Mrs Kim.

"The light is off."

Mr Kim's voice caused everyone to turn their attention to the operation theatre door as a doctor and a nurse exited the room. Mrs Kim and Tiffany were the first to approach them who were removing their surgical masks. The doctor explained that due to the open wound around Taeyeon's ribcage, her spleen was affected especially since she had ruptured it before. They had to operate on Taeyeon to have her partially damaged spleen removed.

"We'll be moving the patient to the intensive care unit soon to monitor her condition especially for any presence of infection. So the next 24hrs would be crucial." The doctor paused for a moment as everyone looked more worried than before. "In the meantime, why don't all of you follow me to my office so that I can elaborate more about Ms Kim's condition?"

************************

It's been awhile since Tiffany had felt this familiarity of silence. The last time she was all alone by herself was a few months back when she was still in her own apartment in Japan. At that time, she had loved her solitary lifestyle where she had a lot of time on her own. Going through her fashion designs and coming up with new ones, Tiffany had enjoyed those moments.

But ever since she met Taeyeon again, everything seemed to have change. She yearned to have someone to talk to, someone to laugh along with, someone to return home to and someone to enjoy every available moment of silence together. But this kind of silence was not the one that she was actually hoping or even expecting. This silence was killing her.

"Are you okay?" Sooyoung asked when she saw Tiffany sighing.

"I'm fine." Tiffany replied but she knew her words was unconvincing as Sunny placed her arms on her shoulders.

"Why don't you take a nap first?" Sunny asked as Tiffany shook her head. "You should rest, Fany. We don't want you to fall sick. Sica told me that you didn't sleep again last night. Even on the first night when Yoona and Hyoyeon were here, you were the only one who didn't rest."

Tiffany sighed again as her eyes turned to the sleeping girl in front of her. It's been more than 48hrs since the operation. The doctor informed that Taeyeon had managed to pull through the critical period but her condition was still very weak and up till now, there was no sign of her waking up. Even the doctor was not able to give a certain answer.

"Come and rest here." Sooyoung said as she and Sunny stood up from the couch. "Sunny needs to go back to the office for a while and I can sit on the chair. I'll wake you up if I notice any movement from Taeng."

Tiffany looked at the couch as she kept blinking her eyes. The truth was that her body was already feeling lethargic due to the lack of sleep but her mind kept telling her to stay awake. "I'll rest for a short while. Wake me up after 30mins, okay. Especially if Taetae's awake."

Sooyoung nodded her head as she walked Sunny to the door and bid her fiancee farewell. In two weeks time, both of them were supposed to have their wedding but seeing Taeyeon's condition, they were thinking of postponing it.

Sooyoung's POV

"Message me once you've reached the office." I said as I leaned in and gave Sunny a quick peck on her lips.

"Take care of Fany and update me too if Taeyeon wakes up." Sunny replied as I nodded my head.

Waving my hands at Sunny until she disappeared down the corridor, I turned around and was about to ask Tiffany if she wanted to get some food when I smiled to myself. Tiffany was already snoring softly on the couch as I took the extra blanket from the cupboard and covered her. Picking up the chair, I placed it quietly besides Taeyeon's bed.

"Taengoo-ah, stop wandering around, my friend. A lot of people are waiting for you to come back, especially Fany. She's been staying by your side, cleaning you up and making sure that you're always comfortable while you're resting here." Sooyoung spoke softly to Taeyeon, hoping that her friend would be able to hear her voice. "My wedding is in two weeks time. I need my best friend to be there. Will you wake up by then?"

Sooyoung sighed as she felt a vibration in her pocket. Taking out her phone, she read the messages in the groupchat.

DeerYoong: Morning Unnies.. Morning Hyo..

ChodingHyo: Morning, Yoong. Morning, Yul-Unnie. Morning, Soo-Unnie. By the way, any new updates, Soo-Unnie?

ShikshinSoo: Morning eveyone. Not much different in here. Except for Fany finally sleeping and resting.

KkabYul: She's sleeping? That's good. She didn't rest at all last night. Kept staring at Taeng's face, massaging her hands and talking to her throughout the night. Sica kept asking her to rest but she said that she was still not sleepy.

ChodingHyo: Me and Yoong also asked her to rest after each of us took turns to do so but she also said that she was not sleepy. Remember to ask her to eat too, Soo-Unnie. She didn't eat much when we were there, right Yoong?

DeerYoong: That's right. Even though Fany-unnie acts like she's okay but I can see from her eyes that she's badly affected by this. Remember what she told us after we left the doctor's office. She said that it was her fault for hesitating in making the decision when Sunmi asked her to choose. She kept apologising to everyone even though Aunt Kim said that it wasn't her fault.

ShikshinSoo: I'll make sure that she eats later once she's awake. She told me to wake her up after 30mins but I'll just let her sleep in unless there's movement from Taeng. But I'm a little hungry at the moment and I can't leave the room since Sunny had left for the office 10mins ago. She needs to settle some things and also our wedding stuff.

KkabYul: I was just about to ask you about it, Soo. Is it still on?

ShikshinSoo: Both of us decided to wait until at least a week before the wedding date itself. We want Taeng to be there on our special occasion. That's why Sunny had went back to the office to update others about the possibility of the postponement of our wedding.

DeerYoong: Soo-unnie, me and Hyunnie will drop by in an hours time. We'll get food for both you and Fany-unnie.

ShikshinSoo: Thanks, Yoong.

All of us chatted for another 30mins until everyone started to be busy with their own things. I looked at the watch and realised that it was already 11am. It's been almost an hour since Tiffany fell asleep. Yoona and Seohyun should be arriving soon as I turned to check on Tiffany. She must be having some bad dreams as I saw her frowning once in a while. I looked back to Taeyeon who had a peaceful expression on her face. 'Aigoo, this midget is really enjoying her sleep.'

I must have accidentally dozed off until Yoona tapped my shoulders to wake me up. She smiled and showed me the plastic bag that was filled with food. I saw Seohyun closing the door softly and realised that Tiffany was still asleep.

"Yoong, I'll go and wash up first. Help me to look after Taeng for a while." I said softly to Yoona who nodded her head and informed me that she would set up the food at the table for me and Tiffany.

Just when I was about to walk into the bathroom, I was startled by a loud scream coming from Tiffany. Instantly turning my head to look at her, I saw an equally shocked-looking Tiffany who was sitting up right with an obvious difficulty in breathing. Seohyun was already by her side when me and Yoona came closer.

"What's wrong, Fany?" I asked, feeling a little worried.

"We heard you shouting out 'Andwae' before you woke up and sat up straight, Fany-unnie." Seohyun said as she Tiffany's back in an attempt to calm her down.

"Tae.. Taetae.. Taeyeon... I dreamt of her." Tiffany stummered before she started crying. "She was.. upset with me... for hesitating again."

"It's all in your mind, Unnie. Aunt Kim already said that it was not your fault. All of us also thinks the same way. Don't stress yourself out by putting all the blame on yourself." Yoona tried to persuade Tiffany who was shaking her head.

"No, no, no... You don't understand. Taetae.. She... said goodbye."

Just as Tiffany finished her sentence, we heard the sound that threw all of us into a frantic mode. There was an obvious change in the sound of Taeyeon's heart monitor.

"Yoongie!! Get the doctor in here. Palli!!" Seohyun shouted as Tiffany rushed to Taeyeon's side while I kept staring at the heart monitor.

"Yah, Kim Taeyeon!! Don't you dare die on us!! You stupid midget!!" I didn't know why I shouted at Taeyeon, who obviously couldn't hear me but I was feeling too frustrated at the moment. There was nothing that I could do to help as I watched how Taeyeon's chest was moving up and down rapidly.

Luckily the doctors and nurses arrived soon after, pushing in additional equipments as they told us to move away from the bed just at the same time as the flatline appeared on the monitor screen. I literally had to pull Tiffany away as she kept saying that she wanted to stay by Taeyeon's side.

"Let the doctors do their job, Fany. They are the only ones who can help Taeng right now. All we can do is just to pray for her." I said as Seohyun gave Tiffany a tight hug.

We saw how the doctors and nurses were going about and around Taeyeon's bed as one of the nurses prepared the defibrillator. It was not until after the 3rd shock that Taeyeon's heartbeat stabilised and we heard the familiar sound from the monitor.

One by one, they left the room except for the doctor that was in charge of Taeyeon. He was still looking through the documents and checking on Taeyeon when I went up to him and tapped his shoulders.

"Is she okay?" I asked nervously and was surprised when he turned around and gave me a small smile.

"We almost lost her." He answered as Tiffany covered and walk up to the other side of Taeyeon's bed. "But she's a fighter. Her will to stay alive was very strong."

************************

Tiffany's POV

I placed Taeyeon's hand back under the blanket after I had finished massaging it. Looking at her sleeping face, no one could have imagine that this girl was fighting for her life this morning. I bite my lips when I felt a tear trailing down my cheeks.

"Miyoung?"

I quickly wiped away that lone tear as I turned around to face Omma Kim who had just walked out from the bathroom.

"Yes, Omma?" I asked as she walked nearer to me.

"Why are you still here? I thought the rest of the girls had already left for the cafetaria 15mins ago." Omma Kim took a seat at the couch as she waited for my reply.

Ever since Sooyoung called everyone to inform them about Taeyeon's sudden cardiac arrest around noon earlier, everyone had gathered at the hospital including Omma Kim. Appa Kim would be coming down soon after he had finished his work.

"I'm not that hungry yet, Omma." I replied as I saw her warm smile.

"You didn't manage to eat breakfast because of what happened this morning and when I arrived around 2pm just now, you were only munching on a piece of sandwich." Omma Kim shook her head but her smile was still visible. "Do you want Taeyeon to be angry with me for not taking care of you?"

"Taetae will never be angry with you, Omma. She loves you a lot. Furthermore, it's not your fault." I replied quickly as I took a seat beside the elderly lady.

"And Taeyeon loves you a lot too. She will never be angry or even blame you for what had happened, Miyoung-ah. It's not your fault." Omma Kim grabbed both of my hands softly and started to rub the top of my hands. "Just like what happened years ago, before both of you broke up. Taeyeon told me everything. About how she regretted making you choose between her and Nicky. She regretted her rash actions but she lacked the courage to make things right."

I could only nod my head and smiled a little as I remembered those times when I was still together with Taeyeon.

"Miyoung-ah, Taeyeon needs you in her life. You complete her. So I need you to be strong for her. Not strong as in hiding your tears away but strong as in taking care of yourself well even in her absence." Omma Kim smiled wider as I just continued listening. "How am I going to entrust Taeyeon to you when you're skipping meals and looking so fragile, like right now? You look more sick than the patient herself."

I chuckled a little at Omma Kim's words as she giggled along. "But I want to be there when she opens her eyes, Omma."

"Call it motherly instinct or whatever it is. But believe me when I say that you'll be by her side when she wakes up." Omma Kim patted my hands before letting it go. "So go and have your dinner with the rest of the girls. Appa Kim will be arriving soon with my dinner. Let me have a little alone time with him, will you?"

I saw Omma Kim winking her eye at me as I chuckled again and nodded my head. I stood up and glanced at Taeyeon before making my way to the door.

'Taetae, I will always be by your side. I promise you that. Saranghae, Kim Taeyeon.'